Game-breaking CS2 bug gives Steam Deck users massive unfair advantage

Whoever plays CS2 on Steam Deck right now can abuse an exploit that allows you to see right through smokes while they’re still active.

At least two CS2 players using a Steam Deck recorded footage of this game-breaking bug involving the smoke grenades. What happens is the smoke grenade doesn’t render for them, so it’s like the smoke has never been deployed.

This is a massive exploit because the whole point of smoke grenades is to block off choke points. If players are able to see right through them, they get a big advantage against their opponents.

Although the reasoning behind this bug on Steam Deck is not totally clear, it seems that it has something to do with Linux not properly rendering smoke grenades. Most players on Steam Deck run CS2 on Linux because it’s Steam Deck’s default operational system.

While it’s frustrating Valve let a bug like this go unnoticed before the official CS2 launch on Sept. 27, these sorts of things are bound to happen in the first week or so.

Luckily, multiple CS2 players have already reported this smoke bug to Valve via Github, so it’s only a matter of time before the developers figure out what is happening and deploy a fix.

In case you come across a bug in CS2, the best way to let Valve know about it is via email. All you need to do is mention the bug in the title and explain it.